proudly of the progress our troops have made -- afghan communities now free from the terror of the taliban and afghan forces that are taking more responsibility for their security. and he carries with him the memories of americans who have made the ultimate sacrifice to make this progress possible. earlier in the oval office, leroy gave me the extraordinary privilege of showing me the small plaque that is bolted to his prosthetic arm. on it are the names of the fallen rangers from the 75th regiment. they are, quite literally, part of him, just as they will always be part of america. one of those names is of the ranger who did not come back from the raid that day -- specialist christopher gathercole. christopher's brother and sister and grandmother are here with us today. i would ask that they stand briefly so that we can show our gratitude for their family's profound sacrifice. our heroes are all around us. they're the force behind the force -- military spouses like ashley, who during leroy's many deployments, during missed birthdays and holidays, has kept this family army strong. so we're